Chrusciki Leaves
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Martha Stewart Living, Winter 1990
- Yield Makes 9 to 10 dozen
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Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
- 2 large eggs
- 10 large egg yolks
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
- 1 teaspoon grated orange zest
- 3 tablespoons Cognac or brandy
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 4 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
- Sifted confectioners' sugar, for sprinkling
Directions
- Put butter, eggs, yolks, granulated sugar, salt, vanilla, zests, Cognac, and sour cream in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment; beat on medium speed until pale and thick, 8 to 10 minutes. Reduce speed to low; gradually add enough flour to form a fairly stiff dough. Turn out dough onto a floured work surface; knead until dough blisters, becomes elastic, and can be handled easily, 6 to 8 minutes, adding flour if needed.
- Divide dough into 4 pieces. Keep dough under an inverted bowl to prevent it from drying out. Working with 1 piece at a time, roll out dough to 1/8 inch thick. If dough becomes too elastic while rolling, cover with plastic, and let rest 15 minutes. Cut out leaves with a leaf-shape cookie cutter; transfer to a tray lined with parchment paper. Repeat with remaining dough, layering leaves between sheets of parchment paper. Collect all scraps, and let rest 20 minutes before rerolling.
- Heat oil in a medium-heavy saucepan until it registers 375 degrees on a deep-fry thermometer. Stretch leaves slightly so they will curl while frying. Fry in batches of 12, turning occasionally, until pale golden brown, about 3 minutes. Transfer to baking sheets lined with paper towels to drain and cool. Sprinkle with confectioners' sugar. Store in airtight containers at room temperature up to 2 days.
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I was raised on the type that Dollyso talked about. My mom cut them in a diamond shape, put the slit in the middle and drew the dough through. I still rank them as a favorite. I will make some using the leaf approach, but I suspect that the old favorite shape will win out.
If you don't want to use Cognac or brandy, what other non-alcoholic liquid can you use, or can you go without any additional liquids?
Am a Polish gal that made these by rolling the dough out and cutting them in rectangles that were about 2 inches wide by 5 or 6 inches long, then put a slit in the middle and pull one end thru the slit to make it kinda like a twist. That is the traditiona way to make them but the leaves look nice, too.
What do you do with the oil from the frying after the cokies are done?
(cont. to David)
hey David, the Chrusciki "bow-tie" recipe says to use the paddle attachment, i also started off with the whisk as this says - what a disaster!! my daughter (23 yo)
I would like to know how everyone successfully made these by following the directions. The instructions didn't say to change mixing attachments and all my dough ended up in the whisk
Grandma never made these for us! Geez, Grandma! You really slacked off this time! ;)
Since I've never had them before I wasn't sure how crispy to fry them. The suggested 3 minutes would have turned them black in my 375 oil. I ended up frying them to the crispness of a funnel cake. The dough is only slightly flavored with the zest and booz. Most of the sweetness comes from the powdered sugar. Very similar to a funnel cake in my opinion.
Wow, what a great recipe. Taste just like Nana used to make. Thank you!
How much oil should you use?
thanks for the recipe!! I recall these from my childhood; my grandma used to make these - I used to look forward to them all year.